The Truth about Ranma and Ryoga!
by D.M.P
Summary: After a little "bathroom incident," questions arise in Nerima about its star martial artist and the Eternal Lost Boy...


[A/N: I know these character aren't mine (so sad, so sad! ^_~); Ranma 1/2 is owned by the goddess Rumiko Takahashi, Kitty Video, Viz Video, and any other companies that I don't know of. This is my first Ranma 1/2 fic, btw, so please be kind and R&R.]

The Truth About Ranma and Ryoga!

by D.M.P.

Chapter 1

Ryoga Hibiki was annoyed. And not only was he annoyed, but he was frustrated. And not only was he annoyed and frustrated, but he was cold, tired and wet as well. And whenever he was wet, there also usually came that other characteristic - he was a pig.

Waddling his way through the rain, Ryoga carefully skittered past the occasional puddle and mud. It wasn't his fault that he was a pig now- it was just that he miscalculated the arrival of this storm. As usual he was lost, and was wandering somewhere toward the highway, so there wasn't any cover for him to duck under. His trusty umbrella had been convenient to use when the storm initially broke and he did use it. He would still be using that umbrella too if only that passing car hadn't splashed him with a roadside puddle....

Ryoga sighed, which came out as a snort in his pig form, and trudged on. When he turned the corner, however, his mood was lifted. The Tendo dojo stood down the street, like a lighthouse during turbulent seas. Of course as soon as Ryoga got to the Tendos, he could easily slip into their bathroom and change back. He had a spare set of clothes hidden there too, which was good since all of his belongings were heaped in a soaked pile somewhere.

_And the best part of all_, he thought to himself and he trotted over, _Akane would be there._ Ryoga smiled a little piggy grin to himself. That was definitely something to look forward to.

***

Akane looked outside. The rain poured down in torrents, so hard that the pond outside had started to flood, expanding its territory a few inches deeper and a foot or two wider. _Hope P-Chan's okay out there_, she thought mildly to herself. She was used to having her pet pop in and out of the house at spontaneous intervals, but now the black piglet had been gone for more than three weeks. _Well_, she reasoned, _if he has survived all those other times he disappeared, he'll surely be back soon enough._

"Dinner!" Kasumi called from the kitchen. Akane smiled and slipped over to the kitchen.

The rest of the Tendo/Saotome clan all clamored to the table, the first as always being Genma and Ranma. And why not, Kasumi's cooking was always the best.

Yet instead of her regular spot in the kitchen, Kasumi was already seated at the table. "Well, hello there," she chirped. "Guess what? Akane said that she would cook tonight. Isn't that so nice of her?"

Immediately, the group halted and paled. "Why didn't Akane say so earlier?" Ranma asked in a shaky voice. A sweat drop went down the back of his head. Very few things scared him, one of them being Akane's cooking.

"She told me to keep it as a surprise. She even asked that I call you all down, since when she does, no one dares come to the table," Kasumi said cheerily. "Today's the one year anniversary of the day you and your father arrived here, Ranma, and she thought it would be nice to commemorate the occasion."

"With what? A trip to the hospital?" The deeper significance of what Akane's deed meant completely went over Ranma's head. 

"We could always eat out instead..." Genma suggested. "How about Ucchan's or the Neko Hanten?"

But by then it was too late. Akane came out of the kitchen carrying a plate to each hand. Questionable smells came from both of them. All of them except for Kasumi suddenly began to back away from her.

"Come on guys," Akane said, smiling, "of course you'd want some dinner. _Don't ya_?" she ended with a bit of a forceful tone behind her friendly face. 

Soun was the first to give in. "Anything for my youngest daughter, " he chuckled nervously, as he took his seat. One by one, the rest took their place by the table, and dinner was served.

Ranma took his pair of chopsticks and poked at whatever it was on the serving plate. Akane made note of his action. "Aren't you going to have some?" she asked, taking a small bit of the substance and putting it in Ranma's rice bowl. 

He stared down at it with mortification. Whatever the brown, burnt thing was, it didn't look too appetizing, and Ranma was sure it wasn't supposed to make that small gurgling noise.

"Um, Pop, the Neko Hanten sounds fine," he said pushing his bowl away. "Why if we leave now, we can avoid the dinner cro-oof!" That 'oof' came from Akane smashing her elbow into Ranma's face. "Don't you dare," she said, her battle aura beginning to flare. "On this night, you choose eating Shampoo's cooking over mine!"

"_This_ night? What's so special about this night?" Ranma muttered groggily, and that was when he was sent through the open patio backway and into the Tendo pond by Akane's fist. 

"You baka!" she cried. "Fine, Ranma! Go eat somewhere else!" 

Outside, Ranma-chan's head broke through the water. "Hey! What was that for??" she huffed, climbing out of the pond. But now, Akane had turned her back to her. Ranma-chan knew she screwed up again somehow, but instead of apologizing, the martial artist stomped toward the bathroom. "I will then!" she snapped. "At least I know that the food there is health inspector-approved! Who needs your cooking anyway!" 

__

Looking down at her clothes, she saw that they were streaked and spattered with pond mud. The downpour had contributed to the sudden increase in backyard muck, and now her red shirt and black pants were drenched and dirty beyond comparison._ Who cares if Akane's mad at me?_ Ranma-chan thought hotly as she re-entered the house and stomped past the eating family, ignoring one member's icy glare. _She's always mad at me anyway!_

***

Ryoga had made it to the Tendo dojo. Making his way around the house, he came to where the bathroom should be. Lifting up a piece of board with his snout, he opened up a secret back entrance that he could slip into in his pig-form, made himself for this exact purpose. 

Entering the bathroom, his shook the leftover mud off his hooves, then dived into the tub. If he raised himself up on his hooves, he could just reach the hot water faucet. However, the rain had made his hooves slippery, and being on the smooth-sided tub, he fell flat onto his stomach. Mentally cursing, he tried again to reach the faucet, but with no avail. Suddenly, he heard someone coming in, so Ryoga dashed to the side of the tub and tried to make himself unnoticeable.

Ranma-chan stepped into the bathroom, muttering to herself. "Whatever I say always sets her off," she growled, peeling off her clothes. "Even just one little remark about her cooking.... heh, maybe I should start eating more at one of my fiancee's cafes; that'll really get her going...."

_Ranma dares to insult Akane!_ Ryoga thought fiercely. _Why that jerk!_ He growled and a faint battle aura surrounded the pig.

"In fact I could get used to that," Ranma-chan mused. "It's really not that bad eating at those places, as long as I could get Ucchan and Shampoo not to bug me so much, especially with the Amazon glomping me all the time."

"Bweeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!" [Translation: "Prepare to die, Ranma Saotome!"]

"Wha-" Ranma-chan turned to see a flying pig coming straight at her throat. "Whoa!!" She fell back, with her hand on the shower pull string. Normally, a fighting piglet would have absolutely no effect to Ranma, - boy or girl- but this piglet was actually a very angry Ryoga plus battle aura and Ranma was caught by surprise when this attack occurred. Ranma-chan slipped and gripped at anything to hold on to. She grabbed at the shower pull and turned it on, releasing a spray of hot water. 

***

Akane started down at her meal stonily, with her chopsticks clenched tightly in her hands. Everyone else had politely avoided speaking to Akane, knowing that her temper was about to go off again at any moment. They were also aware that such arguing between her and Ranma happened fairly often, and that once the initial flare-up happened, she'd be back to her usual self in no time.

_Why does Ranma always have to act like such a jerk!_ she thought. _I mean, he couldn't even take_ one _bite of what I cooked! Preferring Ukyo or Shampoo to me...._ Even though Akane wouldn't dare admit her feelings toward Ranma to anyone - including herself - she couldn't help but acknowledge hatred that Ranma would prefer something his other fiancees had. _Not only that,_ she continued_, but he's always like this to me. Never appreciates anything I do, always insults me, calls me 'uncute'_ - the chopsticks broke at this point, with no one commenting about it- _why, that JERK!! Wouldn't be surprised if he liked someone else..._ Akane straightened herself up _... not that I care or anything. _

Akane abruptly got up and left the table. Everyone looked up, but again, no one uttered a word. 

She made her way to the other side of the house, where the bathroom was. Akane was ready to have one major talk with Ranma, no matter what. Standing outside the door, Akane wondered whether she should knock first.

"Bweeeeeeeeeee!"

"Whoa!!"

Crash!

"Huh?" Akane snapped out of her thoughts to the sounds coming from within the bathroom. "Ranma, are you okay?" she asked as she opened the door.

When that door opened, everyone froze in place, a very bad thing to do. An appalling sight met Akane's eyes. "Ranma...Ryoga..?" she gasped, staring at the two who were a rather, um, peculiar position.

"A-Akane!" Ryoga, now turned back into human form, jumped off of Ranma and into the tub, whereby he immediately hid himself.

Ranma remained on the tile floor, just as unclothed, looking up at her. "A-Akane..." he also spluttered, then jumped up and grabbed a towel. 

Akane just stared at them, speechless. The she closed the door, turned and left, with Ranma standing in a towel and Ryoga in the tub, the hot water from the shower still running.

Chapter 2

"They were doing _what_?" Nabiki asked, surprised.She sat on the bed that night and stared at Akane in shock.

"I don't really know if it was _that_ exactly," Akane said. "It's just that it looked like..." she trailed off, not wanting to go any further. Suddenly, the whole Ranma fiancee fiasco started to make sense. _Ranma couldn't choose any of his fiancees!_ she thought, _Not because he hates all of us or something like that but because he just doesn't _prefer_ us..._ The thought kind of freaked her out, but having witnessed such other strange things in Nerima, it wasn't all that illogical.

"They acted like they were enemies all the time," Akane thought aloud. "So how could they possibly be that close???

"Hey, maybe it was all a cover-up," Nabiki suggested, as she started doing her nightly leg exercises on the bed. "You know, to actually prevent anyone from suspecting..."

"True..." Akane sighed. All those times he and Ryoga fought...it was never serious? _Well maybe at first, when Ryoga came with that schoolboy feud, but ...maybe they could have resolved that dispute long ago...then..._ She sighed. _Why didn't I ever know about this??_ She felt like she wanted to cry, or take her Mallet of Justice and whack it over Ranma's head a few times, but she knew it wouldn't solve anything for her. Nevertheless, she felt a lump forming in her throat.

_And couldn't that be why Ryoga always suddenly appeared in the bathroom sometimes?_ she added. _He had been accustomed to using it a lot. Maybe they met there all the time and we just never knew... What if Ranma's curse that something to do with it, and it affected his preferences..._ She shook her head. It can't be true! 

"I'm going to find them." she announced to her Nabiki. "But, if in case I'm wrong, I don't want to you tell anyone, got it?"

"Sure, sis," Nabiki replied. "I won't tell..." _Unless the price is right,_ she added silently.

***

The rain had long since stopped, and Ryoga had on the clothes he had stored away. He hoped that if he was lucky, his travels could lead him back to where he dropped his stuff from before.

"And where do you think you're going??" Ranma dashed out in front of him. "You have to help me explain what happened to Akane!"

"I can't!" Ryoga snapped bitterly. "If we explain it, we tell all. You know what would happened if she found out about my curse..."

"So who cares about the curse!" Ranma shouted. "It's worse if Akane thinks we're-we're.."

"Don't you think what happened doesn't affect how she thinks about me too??" Ryoga countered. "I just figure that it would maybe be better this way than if she found out I was sleeping in her bed all those nights.."

"Hey, I'm not going to do this by myself. Akane wouldn't believe me!" Ryoga started to walk away. "Hey, come back, you pig!"

Akane peered around the front door to see Ranma yelling at Ryoga from the front steps. Guilt swept over her. "I guess they were trying to keep it a secret," she whispered to herself. "And I broke them up... Hey Ranma," she said in a louder voice.

Ranma jumped and whirled around. "Hey, Akane!" he said nervously. "Look, I have to tell you something. About what you saw earlier-"

"Shhhh," Akane put a finger to her lips. "I know all about it now," she said gently, putting a soft hand on Ranma's shoulder. "Don't worry; I'll keep it a secret."

Ranma looked stunned. She already knew about Ryoga's curse??? "Well, okay then," he said slowly. 

Akane smiled gently, something Ranma found very cute. "C'mon, I'll ask Kasumi is she could whip up something for us," she said as she took Ranma back into the house. Ranma couldn't help but feel pleased with himself. _Heh, heh, you're wrong, P-Chan_, he thought. _See? It wasn't half as bad as you thought. _

Chapter 3

The next day... 

Early that morning, Nabiki strode into the Cat Cafe and sat down in one of the booths. Shampoo looked over at her from the front counter and walked over.

"Welcome!" she greeted in her poor Japanese. "What care you have?"

"Well, Shampoo, I'll have a number 5 small," Nibiki replied, pointing to the menu. "And I have some info on Ranma to boot."

"Ah! My airen!" Shampoo clasped her hands together. "What you say about him?"

"I'll tell you if you give this meal to me on the house." Nibiki crossed her arms in a business-like manner.

"Hmmm, Great-Grandmother no like when Shampoo give free food," Shampoo replied, uncertainly.

"Believe me, the inside scoop that I have is worth it."

Shampoo sighed as she wrestled with the decision. "Okay...Shampoo give," she finally declared, getting the food and handing it over to Nabiki. "Now tell Shampoo."

Nabiki got up and whispered something into the Chinese Amazon's ear. Shampoo's eyes grew wide. She muttered a surprised comment in Chinese, then got up suddenly. "That no true!" she hissed, then stormed out of the dining area.

Passing the kitchen, her distressed attitude attracted Mousse who leaned over to her from his position in front of the sink. "My love, what's wrong?" he asked with concern. Shampoo stared at him coldly and told the news to him.

"What??" Mousse dropped the soapy plate he was holding. "If that's true... oh Shampoo, you can't deny it! We were meant to be together!" He ran after her with his soapy arms raised for a hug.

"Ugh!" Shampoo took a nearby water bucket and dumped it over Mousse. "Even if what sly girl say is true, Shampoo never be with Mousse!"

The duck looked dismayed and quacked something as Shampoo ran upstairs to her room.

From the dining area, Nabiki pushed aside her empty bowl. Getting up from her seat, Nabiki took a look at her watch. "Hmmm... still time to go to Ucchan's and get some free okonomiyaki," she smiled to herself as she walked out the door.

Chapter 4

"RANMA SAOTOME!!" Someone pounded on the door of the bedroom that Ranma and Genma shared.

"Wha? Wha?" Ranma got up and rubbed his eyes. His father, in panda form, was curled up and still snoring on the futon.

Ranma didn't have time to opened the door when an infuriated Soun burst into the room, grabbed him by the collar and pushed him up against the wall. "Ranma, is what my daughter is saying true???" he growled fiercely.

Ranma blinked. Why would Soun get this mad about Ryoga's curse? _Maybe he found out that Ryoga's been sleeping in Akane's bed then, and is blaming me for not telling him sooner... _"I'm sorry," Ranma explained, "but it's the truth, and I really couldn't help that it happened."

"Couldn't help it??? COULDN'T HELP IT???" Soun's big demon head showed up, signaling that he was really steamed this time. "Akane's supposed to be your fiancee!! Why didn't you think of her???"

Ranma felt guilty. "Well, I didn't think that she'd be hurt if she didn't know.."

"Knowing this can make a big difference, son," Soun said grimly. "This could change everything, even this marriage arrangement!"

"I-I didn't know that it was that bad!!" Ranma blinked. _Ryoga didn't actually_ do _anything to Akane, did he??_ An anger overwhelmed him, an emotion which Ranma couldn't find a source for exactly.

"It definitely is, sonny!" Soun shoved him harder against the wall, then he relaxed his grip as he thought about it. "Well, I don't want to deny someone true happiness...if that's the way you really feel about things, Ranma, it wouldn't help if I forced you to keep Akane as your fiancee..."

"What are you talking about??" Ranma questioned. "Hey, I'm not breaking off this marriage arrangement!" He blinked, realizing what he just said. 

"You-you won't?" Soun let go and Ranma straightened his shirt collar. Tears welded up in Soun's eyes. "What honor you have!" He suddenly got Ranma caught in a hug. "How noble you are, Ranma, to get yourself in such a predicament with all these girls, but refuse not to break the engagements!"

"Finally, you realize that," Ranma spluttered, trying to get air back into his lungs.

Soun let go, tears flooding down his face. "Now that, sniff, sniff, is the integrity, sob, of a true martial artist!" he wailed and went back downstairs to get a handkerchief.

"Aw man, what was up with him?" Ranma muttered, as dressed himself before coming down stairs.

At the breakfast table, the Tendos all acted strangely sincere and kind to him (except Kasumi, who acted sincere and kind all the time.) Akane acted the nicest of them all, telling him that he can talk with her, "about anything you need to talk about, anytime."

"I know it must be really rough on you now, since Ryoga left," she concluded understandingly.

"What? Who cares about Ryoga?" Ranma muttered while he stuffed his mouth full.

"I know that you two seemed to have your fights and all, about the bread feud and all that," Akane said, "But deep down inside, I'm sure you two were very close."

"Pfff." Ranma put down his bowl. "Let's go Akane, we'll be late for class," he said. _This place is getting too weird,_ he thought.

"Sure," she said agreeably. "You go ahead, I'll catch up."

Ranma turned to look at her. "Well, okay then..."Ranma got up from the table and left. When he did, the Tendos talked to themselves about Ranma and this strange bit of news about him.

"Poor guy," Akane said. "He must be hurting so bad ever since Ryoga left him. I wish I could talk to it with him." Inside, she felt as if she'd like to talk to someone about it too. How could Ranma ever do that to her?? It had taken all of her will to act nice around Ranma, mainly because she felt pity for him. But then again, it might be hard for anyone to admit that _this_ was a part of who they are... Maybe Kasumi would like to listen to her later...

"But no matter what, we have to keep this a secret," Akane declared. "We can't afford Ranma any more embarrassment than he already has."

Nabiki came to the table with her school things in hand. 

"Oh, hello, Nabiki," Kasumi smiled. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"Already ate. C'mon, I'm late now too," she said, tugging at Akane's arm. "By the way, what did you just say?"

***

The two walked side by side, like always, with Ranma on the fence and Akane on the sidewalk.

"So..." Akane started, looking up at him. "You sure you don't want to talk about anything?"

"No." Ranma said stiffly.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Positive?"

Ranma stopped. "Look, Akane," he snapped, "I don't know what's going on, but could you please leave me alone??" The he continued on silently.

Akane stood on the sidewalk. She shook her head, trying to solve the conflicting emotions within her. "Oh Ranma, you jerk," she sniffed. But she knew that Ranma just _had_ to be in more dire straits than she. _Ryoga the baka! How dare he leave Ranma like that??_ Akane gritted her teeth and moved on.

"Oh no..." she gasped as the two rushed to school. Outside stood a large crowd of boys in front of Furinkan High. What were they doing here???

"Hey, Ranma!" one of them called. "We know the truth!"

He looked puzzled at this. "About Ryoga?" he asked uncertainly.

"You and him? Oh yeah!" another shouted. "So now you can lay your claims off Akane and give one of us a chance!"

At this shout, the group rushed at them.

"What???" Akane gasped and she kicked and punched her way past the various males. "Oh, not again!"

"Hey you guys!" Nabiki called down from one of the school windows. From behind her back, she tucked in a wad of bills into her notebook. "Kuno seemed to have found out about, you know, and re-instated the duel for a date thing." 

"Why would Kuno do that???" Ranma shouted and he tripped up a lacrosse player and punched at a track member. "Ryoga has nothing to do with this!"

Nabiki shrugged with pseudo-innocence. "Look out behind you!"

Ranma turned and punched a sumo wrestler in the stomach. _Why would all of these guys care if Ryoga turns into a pig???? And what does that have to do with Akane?!_

Finally, the assorted challengerswere left sprawling in various uncomfortable positions on the ground. Ranma wiped the dust off his hands and grabbed Akane's hand and started running towards the building. "Good," he said, looking at the clock, "we just made it."

"Not so fast, Ranma Saotome!" A tall figure clad in his blue robes strode into view, his bokken leaning casually against his shoulder. 

Ranma sighed. "What do you want now, Kuno?"

The Upperclassman put the wooden sword up in front of him. "You have deceived me for only so long with your deceptive trickery, Saotome. I shall now commit utmost vengeance for playing me as an incompetent fool, and claim the hand of the fair Akane for myself! I shall smite thee!!" In a flash, Kuno brought his sword down. However, his ranting had given Ranma and Akane time to slip past him and through the school doors.

"Huh?" Kuno blinked as the bokken fell on nothing, then whirled around. "How dare you run away, you coward!" he screamed, and raced inside with the bokken raised over his head.

"Akane, you go to class; I'll deal with Kuno," Ranma said, pushing Akane toward her classroom. 

"Hey!" she cried. "You can't leave me outta this!" 

Kuno charged past her. "Die, Saotome, you foul trickster!!"

Ranma ducked into a hallway, and leaned against the wall, while Kuno ran past screaming, "You perverted fiend! Fight me coward!"

"Hey!" Ranma snapped. "If you say it that way..." He walked up to him and tapped Kuno on the shoulder. The kendo fighter turned around to meet Ranma's fist. 

"That'll show ya," he huffed, walking away from the collapsed form.

Splash!

"Leave me behind to get detention, huh??" Akane said indignantly, bonking Ranma with a water bucket. "Jerk!" 

"Ugh, but Akane!" _So much for the nice streak_, Ranma-chan thought. Akane walked away angrily, leaving the wet red-head behind.

Suddenly, Ranma-chan felt someone grab her from behind. "Oh my pig-tailed goddess!" Kuno cried, hugging her to his chest. "I must release you from that evil sorcerer Saotome! Yet to my sincere happiness there is hope that his interests have changed and you are free to be mine forever!"

Bam! Ranma-chan elbowed him in the face. "Yeah, right!" she spat.

"What is going on around this place?" she muttered to herself as she went to the school restroom to get some hot water.

***

The Furinkan High cafeteria was a breeding ground for all kinds of rumors and gossip. Today was no exception. Mixed comments and hushed whispers floated around the room about the high school's greatest martial artist.

"Yeah, Ranma and some kid...Ryoku?"

"Oh, I heard it was going on for years..."

"Love child? How can there be a love child?"

"Ranma? But isn't he engaged to Akane Tendo? So you saying...threesome?"

Nabiki was sitting at a table by the window eating her lunch when someone rushed up to her. "Hey Nabiki, did you, like, hear the totally _un_-believeable news between, like, your sister and her 'fiancé?' " The girl giggled in a ditzy manner.

Nabiki arched an eyebrow. "Hmmm... what is it now?"

"Well, like, I, like, totally heard from Yura and Tamiko that there's, like, a totally three-way love triangle between Akane, Ranma, and some guy named Ryola, you know - the guy with the parasol or something? Well, Akane and Ranma, like, had a love child, which, like, Ranma totally tried to pass off as, like, his and Ryola's and now the Tendos are fighting for custody!"

"Oh." Nabiki just continued eating, unfazed by the news. "This is turning out to be pretty...interesting..."

Meanwhile, Ranma was leaning against the wall by the vending machine. He was bored to the average extent of boredom he got while in school. But for some reason, everyone seemed...different. Maybe it was the occasional stare he got from passing classmates while walking down the hall, or the various whispers he heard. Each time he passed a group of gossiping students, they all abruptly stopped talking whenever he walked by. And Ranma could have sworn that he heard his name in the stopped conversation.

Ranma gave a low wave to a couple of boys walking by. "Hey Daisuke, Hiroshi." he said casually.

The two boys jumped. "Oh, uh, hi Ranma..." Daisuke said nervously. "How's, um, it going'?"

"You guys okay?" Ranma asked getting up from his leaning position against the wall. 

"Oh we're-we're fine, really!" Hiroshi jumped as Ranma moved. "Uh, Daisuke, didn't we have to, uh, uh, talk to Ms. Hirsho during lunch?"

"Huh? I didn't know th-ugh!" Daisuke put a hand to his side where Hiroshi elbowed him. "Uh, yeah... see ya later, Ranma!" The two sped off into the crowd.

_Hmmmm..._ Ranma felt that uncomfortable feeling inside him again. _Maybe I should just go over to Ucchan's. She usually goes back to the restaurant for lunch hour anyway..._ Ranma got up from his spot and walked out of the cafeteria.

Akane looked up to where he was from her spot at a nearby table. "You okay, Akane?" another girl asked next to her. "I'm really sorry for that thing between you and Ranma. I'm sure you'll win custody though; you're the baby's mother."

"Uh, excuse me," Akane said quickly and got up. 

"Where are you going?" the lunchmate asked.

Akane didn't reply; instead she left the room.

"Akane!" the girl called out. "Ranma doesn't deserve you! The pervert!" 

Walking out, Akane noticed that Nabiki now had a small table set up. "Okay, folks, step right up!" Nabiki called. "Who will get the Ranma/Akane love child? Akane? Ranma? Or his mysterious Lost Boy lover?? All bets here please! Odds are high for the Tendos! Call all bets today!" 

Chapter 5

Ukyo poured the okonomiyaki batter on the grill in a tired, dead-pan motion. The lunch-time crowd had long since left, and the store was empty, but she kept right on pouring more batches of okonomiyaki. Ever since Nabiki had told her the truth about Ranma and Ryoga, she felt as if her heart would cave in. _So it wasn't Akane all along,_ she thought, as she dimly watched the batter sizzle on the grill. _I just wish that he'd told me sooner..._

"Hey, Ucchan!" Ranma said as he walked into the empty store.

"R-Ranma??" Ukyo gasped, dropping her spatula. "What are you doing here??"

"Well, things at the Tendo dojo were getting a little weird," he confessed. "And school was even worse. Everyone's acting kinda off lately." He shook his head. "And I have no idea why."

"Yeah, I think it would, with that news going about." Ukyo put a hand up to her hair in a nervous fashion. "So, uh, Ranchan, do you have anything that you'd like to talk about with me?"

"About what?" Ranma shrugged. "All I can say is that I feel sorry for Ryoga. I mean, he left because he thought that everyone couldn't handle the truth, but everyone seems to take it just fine."

"Oh." Ukyo looked at Ranma in disappointment. She had always loved him, but could never get the guts to tell him that. Now that she knew what Ranma really was, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to confess. Her soul ached, but she knew it was for the best. "Ranma honey... I have to tell you something."

"Hey, Ucchan, you okay?" Ranma went up to the counter and tilted his head so he could take a look at Ukyo's drooping face. "Something wrong?"

"Oh everything." Ukyo shook her head and quickly brushed a tear away from her face. "Oh Ranchan, all these years I've known you... You know how, when you left years ago, leaving the marriage agreement unfulfilled?"

"Oh Ucchan, you know it's all Pop's fault about that one," Ranma apologized.

"I know, I know," Ukyo said quickly. "Just let me finish.... and I said that I'd swore off womanhood, and went after you in revenge?"

"Yup. Only to agree to keep the marriage contract instead." Ranma nodded.

"Yeah... well, I did that not just to keep martial artist's honor or anything like that," Ukyo said softly. "I did it also because... because..."

"Because what, Ucchan?" Ranma had his face close to hers, looking straight into her eyes. Ukyo looked back, and more unstoppable tears welled up. She thought then about how wonderful it would be to kiss him then, but that especially now it wouldn't be right. 

Ukyo let her tears fall freely this time, hitting the grill with little hisses. "Because I lov-"

"What's that smell?" Ranma interrupted, killing the moment.

Ukyo sniffed the air and looked down. "The okonomiyaki!" she gasped, and quickly picked up a spatula to scrape off the burning mess.

Then, unexpectedly, another person arrived at the restaurant. "Oh, Ranma!!!" Shampoo cried, dashing past the front door and wrapping her arms around Ranma's neck. "That not true, ne?" she sobbed, burying her face him his chest.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Shampoo, hold it there!" Ranma said, as he tried to peel Shampoo off him. The fact that she was crying alarmed him. Shampoo almost never cried.

"You no love Shampoo now?" she whimpered, holding on tighter. "You no like girl!"

"Well, uh, of course I, uh, don't exactly like you, Shampoo," Ranma said awkwardly. "But, hey, there are a whole lot of other guys around I'm sure. How 'bout Mousse?"

"Mousse??" Shampoo wailed at the thought. "Me no want Mousse! Me want Ranmmmmaaaa!!" She sniffed, then let go of him. Ranma heaved a sigh of relief.

She looked at him with determination. "Me show Ranma that Shampoo is better than Pig Boy!"

"Hey, what are you talking about??" Ranma said, but then Shampoo was on him and knocked him to the floor. She was deeply kissing him on the lips, while from underneath Ranma squirmed in trying to get out from under her.

"Shampoo!!" Ukyo gasped, jumping over the counter. Fury overwhelmed her. First, because of the in-consideration that Shampoo showed to what Ranma might actually prefer, and second, because _she_ wanted to kiss him too!

"You Chinese bimbo!" she shrieked, getting out her giant spatula and using that to try and pry her off of him.

From outside, Akane heard the commotion, and rushed into the restaurant. "Shampoo!"

Finally, with one mighty heave, Ukyo got Shampoo off of Ranma and onto the spatula and, like she was just a piece of okonomiyaki, flipped her into the air. Shampoo cried out and landed in the middle of the dining area, up-turning several chairs and cracking a table in half with her landing.

Shampoo looked over at Ranma. "How, uh, yoo like dat compare, er, wid Lost Boy?" she asked in a daze before falling flat out cold.

Both Akane and Ukyo came to Ranma's side. "Ranma, you okay?" they asked.

Ranma looked at them. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he said. "Actually, she's not half bad."

Both girls stared at him. 

"What'd I say?" Ranma asked.

"You mean, you-you _liked_ that?" Akane said slowly, hope filling her heart.

"Oh, oh, I'm sorry Akane," Ranma said hurriedly. "I didn't mean it that way-"

"No, no, no, Ranma honey, it's okay," Ukyo gave a small smile and the two exchanged glances.

_The weirdness is now officially spreading,_ Ranma mentally declared.

Akane looked out the window. "Oh geez," she said, "Look who's here." Pointing, she picked out a figure with a red umbrella and the all too familiar bandanna. 

"He's going to pay for doing this to Ranma!" Ukyo said as two ran outside.

"Pay for what?" Ranma asked behind them, still on the floor.

***

Ryoga looked at the map he was carrying. The thing must be inaccurate; he knew that he can't be in Tokyo now... Turning it backwards, Ryoga counted off the grid marks. "B-1, B-2, B-3..."

"Hold it right there, mister!" 

Ryoga recognized that voice. Turning around, he saw the two mad females. "A-A-Akane?? Ukyo??" he stuttered. "W-what are you two doing in Tokyo??"

"You're in Nerima, jackass!" Ukyo hissed, welding her spatula.

"Ryoga, how dare you do something like this to Ranma???" Akane accused. 

"Do-do what to Ranma?" At the mere sight of her, Ryoga felt her knees shake and his heart thud. Now at the sight of an angry Akane, those symptoms doubled, with a whole lot of uneasiness added on.

"You broke his heart!" Akane spat. "Now, I know that these relationships are not what I'm used to, but it's still not right to run off and leave him just because you're afraid of coming out!" Akane drilled hole into Ryoga with her deadly stare. "Now go in there and make up!"

Ryoga had absolutely no idea what Akane was talking about, but he muttered a, "Y-y-y-yes, A-Akane," and ducked inside.

Ranma got up to see Ryoga stumble in. "Hey Ryoga!"

The Lost Boy looked fearfully over his shoulder. "I think Akane's mad at me," he winced. "And I have no idea why!"

Ranma shrugged. "She's always mad at me for something." He paused. "But recently, she's been acting...nice. Well, at least more than usual. It's freaking me out."

"You don't think it's because," Ryoga leaned over and said in a hushed voice, "the bathroom incident?"

"Clobbering me out of Japan would be a better reaction," Ranma chuckled. "Anyway, Akane told me that she knew all about the curse."

"She did?!??" Ryoga paled. "No wonder she's so mad at me!" He fell to his knees and grabbed Ranma's pant legs. "Ranma, you gotta help me! I'm can't bear it if Akane stays like this forever! My heart of glass would be..." he saved himself from bawling out loud, "shattered!"

Akane and Ukyo pressed their faces against the glass, letting the two boys inside be able to talk to themselves. "Hey, what do you think they're saying?" Ukyo asked.

"It looks like Ryoga's apologizing," Akane replied. "See, he's on his knees and everything."

"Good," Ukyo said. "I think it's time to us to go back in."

"Ranma! Please, you gotta talk with her!" Ryoga was saying as the two stepped back in.

"Talk about what?" Akane said. She looked at Ranma and Ryoga meaningfully. "Look, I just want you two to be happy together," she said, her voice starting to crack. "And I'm sure we're all going to accept this....eventually..." 

Ranma and Ryoga stared at her. "What are you talking about???" they both said in unison.

Akane blinked. "You know...," she said, gesturing with her hands in a suggestive manner. Then she asked the question straight out.

Ryoga and Ranma stared at their position, with Ryoga begging at Ranma's feet. They stared at Ukyo, who was holding her giant spatula between clasped hands as if praying for them to contradict. They even stared at Shampoo, who was now just beginning to wake up. Then they turned back to Akane. There was only one response they could give. 

"WHAT???"

[A/N: Tee hee hee... well, I kept the actually rumored "truth" about Ranma and Ryoga pretty vague, so it's open to interruption to what they all thought it was ^_~ Like it? Hate it? C&C Welcomed. ^_^] 


End file.
